It is our pleasure to announce the winners of the inaugural Distinguished Teaching Artist awards: Steve Levitt, Maria McCullough, and Shelley Miller. This award is part of the 2014 Music Legend Awards ceremony honoring Joan Harris and Ella Jenkins along with these three exemplary teaching artists.

These honorees have been nominated by their peers and selected by a committee of members from Old Town School’s Board Of Directors. Criteria for selection was based upon excellence as a teaching artist, excellence as a leader among fellow teachers and excellence in their contributions to the community culture of the Old Town School of Folk Music.

Our teaching artists help make the School a national model for community arts learning and inspire our students, community members, and staff alike. Congratulations to Steve, Maria, and Shelley!

Steve Levitt

To take a class with Steve Levitt is to witness and be inspired by true musical genius. His warmth, patience, eloquence, and distinct perspective provide an incomparable classroom experience. His command of diverse musical styles and ease of execution creates an atmosphere of awe and motivation. Steve began his commitment to the school as a young guitar student in the mid 60s. He remains a living link to both our original location on North Ave and the early days of Armitage. He creates enchanting music on any instrument that he picks up: Guitar, Bass, Piano, Banjo, Mandolin, Drums, Autoharp, etc. During the ‘70s Steve represented the School in a local supergroup called “Ravenswood.” Returning to our community in the early ‘90s to teach, Levitt has offered his boundless passion and skills to over 1800 classes and tens of thousands of students of all ages. Steve was the guitar guru behind the Guinness record “Worlds Largest Music Lesson.” He raises the level of play in any musical situation where he is present. Levitt's catalog of class offerings over the years is unmatched!

Maria McCullough

Maria’s classrooms are filled with warmth, joy, love and lively energy. Maria believes that music is one of the greatest gifts we can share with each other. Thanks to Maria’s mom Grace, She’s been playing the fiddle since she was seven and a half. Maria originally moved to Chicago from California to become a founding member of The House Theatre of Chicago, and fortunately also found the Old Town School. Since 2005 Maria has been teaching Fiddle, Violin, ¡Hola! Wiggleworms, Double Play for Preschoolers, and Kids Ensemble. She loves getting to spend time teaching and playing music with people of all ages all week long. Maria is also passionate about Mexican music and teaching music in Spanish. One of her favorite projects is co-leading a band with her husband Yahví Pichardo. Their group Corrientes consists of folks of all ages playing traditional Mexican music as well as traditional music from the U.S. and beyond. Maria truly believes that everyone can and deserves to have music in their lives. She enjoys sharing that philosophy through teaching music and playing the fiddle.

Shelley Miller

Shelley Miller is a singer, songwriter, music educator, and multi-instrumentalist. As a songwriter, she's won awards in numerous songwriting contests, including the 2012 Sandy Lee Songfest Songwriting Contest (Grand Prize) and the 2012 Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest at the Sisters Folk Festival (Finalist). She’s performed at venues and festivals around the country, both as a solo artist and with her band Shelley Miller and the BCC, and has released five albums of original music. She also plays drums in the band The Gold Harvest. Shelley has played the guitar since 1996 and began her “formal” music education as a guitar and voice student at Old Town School in 1999. Shelley has taught at the School since 2002 and currently teaches guitar, songwriting, ensembles, and Wiggleworms. She believes that everyone has the right to make music and strives to make her classroom a warm, fun environment where people can try new things, ask questions, and discover their musical voices. As someone whose life has been profoundly changed by the Old Town School and its teachers and community, she's deeply honored to be part of the School's faculty, and to be able to help other people connect with the joy, discipline, and bravery of making music.